Maybe the most admirable thing about St. Joseph was that he followed his dreams and listened to what God was telling him…And I mean this in a literal sense. He literally had a dream where God told him to pack up his things to move his family to Egypt, and he listened! Talk about being strong and brave. 🖤 In an age of noise and many words, Joseph reminds us that if we wish to hear God’s voice, we must sometimes quiet our hearts and enter into silence with Him alone. Only then can we really decide what He wants us to do about something.

So the other night for whatever reason, I just wasn’t hungry. I went to bed knowing that I probably should eat something, but decided just to go to bed. I’d eat breakfast in the morning. Whatever.

So anyways, I ended up dreaming a rather hilarious dream filled with two of my favorite foods: chicken corn soup and ham and bean soup. Yes, you’re probably thinking “This girl’s a weirdo” but I promise there is deeper meaning. Just hear me out and read on.

So, in my dream I was at a conference talking to a man who seemed to be a rather celebrated intellectual. Somehow he began telling me about his upbringing and how “There couldn’t possibly be a God” because of all the hard times he had gone through in the past. According to this man “No loving God would allow for such hardship and tragedy in someone destined for great things.”

However, as I listened to the man, a waiter with bowls of soup was passing by. As the man grabbed one, he realized it was ham and bean, rather than the chicken corn soup he desired.

He looked at it with disgust, “Ugh. This isn’t what I wanted.”

In response to his disgust, I looked at him and gently told him that perhaps the reason why bad things were happening to him is because God knows more than he. Maybe his simple grabbing of the wrong soup was in fact a divine way of protecting him. Maybe the chicken corn soup had traces of salmonella, I explained, and he avoided poisoning by choosing the other offering!

The moral of the story is, God has ways of working that are beyond our comprehension and it is our job to trust in Him.

As an update, I am currently finishing the last two weeks of my year-long journey through Bloomsburg University’s MBA program. Praise God! It was by far the most challenging year of my life, as my coursework was heavy and my social life was basically non-existent. Hopefully as a result of the suffering, the end-payoff will be great.

I thought I’d share with you a discussion post I wrote today for my Managerial Decision Making class about a Ted Talk I watched. Essentially, it covers how God has good intentions for our futures and we need to FULLY trust in His wisdom without getting discouraged when things do not go as we necessarily planned. Here is what I wrote:

“It was thought-provoking to hear the speaker in the video talk about how either 1) Our minds are designed badly or 2) Our environments are designed badly.

From a Christian perspective, neither of those statements are correct. God is infinitely good and all his works are good.

But why did God not create a world so perfect that no evil (bad decisions) could exist in it? With infinite power God could always create something better.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “God freely willed to create a world ‘in a state of journeying’ towards its ultimate perfection. In God’s plan this process of becoming involves […] the existence of the more perfect alongside the less perfect, both constructive and destructive forces of nature.”

When discussing the topic of decision making (moral, financial, etc.), it is important to recognize this reality.

What seems like a failed decision to us, may not actually be. Perhaps the reason why our investments fail at times, or our businesses crash is because God has better plans for us in mind and wants us to draw closer to Him through the hardship.

(For more info: http://www.catholicstand.com/why-does-god-let-bad-things-happen/)

As far as my own mental/environmental barriers to decision making go, I find that when decisions get tough, I often become discouraged and impatient.

Only recently, after my realization that I need to trust in God’s understanding of what is truly good for me, did I start making a conscious effort to control my anxiety caused by “fear of the unknown”.  Ever since, I have viewed decisions (not as punishments), but as opportunities to fulfill God’s plan for me.

Ultimately, I have been trying to choose paths that align with His Word.”

This is your reminder that God wants the absolute BEST for you. His ways are not our own and if we follow Him wholeheartedly, He will exceed our expectations. It’s when we disobey Him that we cut ourselves short.

So if you want Him to work in your life…to exceed your expectations…to give you the future He has designed for you, here’s an idea: follow Him.

It’s so simple, yet as humans who are surrounded by meaningless noise, we sometimes miss the mark.

So the next time temptation strikes, remember this: choose the right thing. That is, the choice that aligns with God’s commandments. You’ll be surprised by the outcome.

Earlier this year I wrote a post about The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor and explained the 3 paths that one experiences in his or her life. I mentioned how many of us need to find a “third path” and that the most logical way for me to go about finding it, personally, was to focus on being a living-asset to others…Only then would others do the same for me.

Essentially, I decided I would pursue wholeheartedly, a Christian way of living: to be happy, no matter the circumstances. While it took time and practice, eventually I began to believe in my happiness and it began to not only impact me, but others too!

Part of finding a third path involved a realization that life is short. I needed to plan fun activities and not waste the precious time and good health that God has given me on this earth to venture out and explore.

Another part of the path was accepting that some people would not be traveling with me on it… and that is perfectly OK!

I could no longer allow life to pass by without pursuing the things that I dreamed of doing… Essentially, I needed to run with God and trust that He would find a way for those that want to join us, to catch up.

One thing that I dreamed of doing, for instance, was to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination exhibit in New York City.

I had the pleasure of visiting it yesterday with two of my cousins, and can say that it was one of the best pilgrimages I have ever made. I felt so much peace and happiness being there, which is an indicator that it was aligned with God’s plan.

Some of the pieces (especially the first-class relics of some of the saints) stirred my heart and soul to the point of chills. After seeing some of them, I remember feeling such a burning love and whispering to God in my head “I just love you so much.”

The way that the pieces were so intricately and beautifully designed were a true glimpse of what heaven must be like. They definitely served their purpose and turned my gaze toward God and the beauty of living a life centered around the faith.

I am thankful that I was able to visit the exhibit and feel as though it was an excellent point of interest along my third path. For those reading, I highly recommend that you take a chance to visit this exhibit.

I also challenge you to pursue your third path and find a way to fulfill the dreams God has placed in your heart.

Peace and Blessings,

V.

This post goes out to all the beautiful, independent, and strong young women out there.

Keep on doin’ what you’re doin’ and don’t ever for a second think that being a good girl isn’t worth it. It is! God promises final victory to us.

So let’s keep our pure little hearts focused on Him and trust that when the time is right, He will entrust our hearts to the man He deems worthy to protect it.

Until then, let’s enjoy the healthy relationships He has already blessed us with (like relationships with our friends and family).

Happy 4th, loves!

I think the greatest gift you can give to someone is the enabling love and support they need to achieve their dreams. I hope that I have done that for you.

-V.

As college students we often get tied up in the thought of “Where am I going to work after school?”, “Who will I marry?”, “Will I have enough money to support a family?”, “How about to go on vacations?”

While these are valid concerns for the stage of life we are living in, we can’t forget that we already HAVE a job. We already HAVE a significant other. And lastly we already HAVE our travels planned. We simply need to follow God’s will to get what He has in store for us. This means following His commandments in ENTIRETY. When we stray from them and take shortcuts, we throw everything off course.

Sometimes things don’t go as we necessarily plan for them to go, but that is because God has a GREATER plan than we could ever imagine at that point in time. The important thing is, to achieve His ultimate, we have to do what is right. We have to hate sin as God hates it. We have to completely be changed by Him to be navigated by Him. So what do you say? Do you want God to be your navigator? Do you want to live the life He desires of you…the one you were created for? It is your choice.

~V.

The most complex project I ever took on was pursuing a job as a flight attendant for American Airlines. I remember arriving at the Dallas Airport shocked that I flew to an unfamiliar place alone, and would be staying for 6.5 weeks to pursue a job I knew absolutely nothing about. It seemed like the entire hiring process just happened so fast, that I didn’t really have time to contemplate what was going on. Rather, I placed my reservations aside, and pushed myself to do the unthinkable. Only two weeks before training was over, I found out that I would be based in Miami. I remember calling my mom from my hotel room balcony, choking back the tears, and asking her to please pack up any clothes and appliances she found of mine, so that they could be shipped to my new base. I didn’t know when I could return home, because I would have to start the job and find a place to live in Miami within 5 days after training ended. While I was excited, I was completely overwhelmed, and was not sure how to react to what was happening. Thinking back, I realize that I never could have found a place in time or pursued that lifestyle without my mom’s love, help, and support.  She packed up all my things and arranged to have my car transported to Miami. Not only that, but she reassured me every time I felt like giving up that everything would be ok. If the flight attendant thing didn’t work out, I was always welcome back home in Pennsylvania.  Her gentle words and attitude mirrored that of the blessed mother. Like the blessed mother, she possessed an unconditional welcome and continual loving support for a child with big plans.

All-in-all, the flight attendant training program turned out to be one of the hardest, yet most rewarding times of my life. I learned life-saving skills that I will carry with me forever, For example, I learned CPR, the Heimlich maneuver, how to deliver a baby, how to put out a fire, basic self-defense tactics, how to evacuate an airplane, how to construct a raft, how to navigate an airport, etc. Because the program was designed to adjust our bodies to unpredictable schedules, my fellow trainees and I had to wake up at 4 A.M. most days to be to class for 6 A.M. I remember being so tired for class, but thinking: “There has got to be a reason for all this.” I put my trust in God, and kept going.

All-in-all, working as a flight attendant for a year made me a stronger, more cultured person. Living in a crash pad with 5 other girls in Miami was comparable to a college experience, which was something I never had in Pennsylvania because I always commuted to college from home. Through it, I made some of my craziest memories and was introduced to some of my best, life-long friends. Aside from the fun, it taught me responsibility, as I made sure that our bills were always paid on time and that everyone who inquired about the apartment, signed the lease.

Looking back, being a flight attendant is something I would never trade. It played a huge role in shaping the person I am today. Like I mentioned before, the entire experience fell into place so quickly that I never had time to contemplate if what I was doing was the right. After a year of pursuing the job, and a lot of silent prayer in the jumpseat, I realized that I should pursue a more intellectually stimulating and stable career. If I wanted to someday have the family I always dreamed of, I would need to find a position with a more predictable schedule. Also, I knew I wanted to continue my education, but was not sure when. After being accepted and offered a graduate assistantship that would significantly decrease the price of tuition at Bloomsburg University, I knew it was time to end my job with as a flight attendant.

If I could go back, I would have pursued my MBA upon graduation in 2015 and applied to be a flight attendant after that. I loved the job, but felt like the timing for it was wrong. I don’t know what the future will hold, but my hopes are to secure an administrative position with American after completing my graduate degree. If so, I will need to make sure I have the proper support system and plan in place. I am so thankful for what my family, especially my mom, sacrificed to help me live out my dream. However, I would like my next endeavor to be a little more planned out and not as spontaneous and stressful to the ones I love.